Railway-switch



(No Model.)

W. J.KELLY.

` RAILWAY SWITCH. No. 405,361. Patented-June 18, 1889` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM J. KELLY, OF BOSTON, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES H.'

' ARNOLD, OF -WOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAI LWAY-SW-ITCH.`

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 405,361, dated June 18, 1889.

Application tiled November 3, 1888. Serial No. 289,867. (No model.)

To aZZ wiz/0m, it may cm2/cern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. KELLY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of oston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway-Switches, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in railway-switches for the purpose of guiding cars from a single track to one of two branches, or vice versa, Without the use of the ordinary movable point or tongue-in fact, without any movable part of the track or switch whatsoever.

This my invention I term a diverterand it is constructed as follows, reference being had to the accompanying dra-win gs, wherein* Figure 1 represents a plan view of the diverter and rails connected to its ends. Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5 represent, respectively, enlarged cross-sections on the lines A A, B B, C C, and D D shown in Fig. l.

Similar letters refer to similar parts wherever they occur on the different parts of the drawings.

E, F, and G represent rails of the usual form adapted for horse-car traffic, said rails having, respectively, the wheel-bearings e f g, wheeliiange grooves e f g', and continuous side wheel-guard lips e" f g, as is common in rails of this kind.

II is the diverter, having in one end, where it is connected to the single rail E, a wheelbearing h, a wheel-fiange groove 7L', and continuous side wheel-guard lip 7L, of a size and shape equal with and corresponding to the respective parts e e e on said rail E.

The wheel-bearing h of the diverter is curved, as shown, and forms a continuation of the Wheel-bearings e and g on the respective rails E and G, as shown in Fig. l. The lip h of the diverter is also curved and forms a continuation of the lips e and f on the respective rails E and F, as shown in Fig. l. The

opposite ends of the diverter are secured in a suitable manner to the abutting ends of the rails E, F, and G; but I wish to state that I do not confine myself to any particular device for securing said parts together, as this may Between the diverter-grooves h3 and h4 is ar-l ranged the stationary tongue orpointed Wheelbearing h5, which is cast-or made in one single piece with the diverter II, as shown in Figs. l and 4, and has its pointed end located centrally in the single wheel-flange groove h. At the end of the diverter that connects with the rails F and G the end of the tongue h5 is enlarged, so as to form a continuous flush edge with the wheel-tread f of the rail F and with the guard-lip g of the rail G. This construction enables me to dispense with the use of the point h5 on one of the rails, as the use of one will accomplish the result equally as well, for the reason that whichever groove the wheel enters it will have a continuous flange-bearing surface from the moment it passes the point of the tongue h5, either against the guardlip h2, if entering the rail F, or against the tongue h5, if entering the rail G.

The diverter-grooves h3 and hi are both curved, the radii of the groove vbeing longer than the radii of the groove h3 on the righthand rail-diverter, as shown in Fig. l, and similarly on the left-hand rail, it being essential that the diverter-grooves shall have different radii-one greater than the other-t0 enable the car when going in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. l t0 be properly guided to the right, or eventually straight forward, as may be required.

In practice it is always desirable to locatel the diverter upon that side of the track to which the car is to be guided from a straight line. Then the diverter is to be used for the purpose of guiding a car from a straight line toward the right, I make it curved toward the right, as shown in Fig. l, and vice versa if the diverter is desired for the purpose of guiding a car from a straight line toward the left.

IOO

When the car is driven in the direction shown by arrow in Fig. 1, if it is desired to run onto the rail G, all that is necessary to do is to guide the horses toward the right, causing the Wheels to run onthe diverter wheel-bearing h and onto the Wheel-bearing g of the said rail G.

If it is desired to run onto the rail F, itis only necessary for the driver on approaching the diverter to guide the horses toward thel left, causing the car-Wheel flange to be guided into the diverter-groove h3, and causing the Wheels to run on the tongue h5, and thereby t0 be guided onto the wheel-bearing f of the rail F.

The object 0f having one of the grooves in the diverter sharper than the other is to permit the wheels of the car to be properly and easily guided in theldesired direction without the use of a movable tongue or switch-point.

Vhen driving in a direction opposite to that shown by arrow in Fig. l from either of the rails F or G, the wheels will be automatically guided onto the railE without any care on the part of the driver.

NWhat I Wish to secure by Letters Patent, and claim, is-

l. In a railroad-switch, the combination, with the main rail E and the branching rails F and G, of adiverterinterposed between said main and branch rails and consisting of a continuous wheel-bearing to one branch rail, a continuous side guard-lip to the other branch rail, and a central iixed pointed tongue running back and forming a continuous flush edge for the wheel-tread of one rail and for the side guard-lip of the other rail, substantially as described.

2. A railroad-switch consisting of a wheelt-read, side guard -lip, and central pointed tongue broadened at one end and serving as wheel-tread and side guard-lip, all cast in one integral piece and adapted to be interposed between a main rail and two branch rails, sub-- stantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 30th day of October, A. D. 1888.

VILLIAM J. KELLY.

Witnesses:

ALBAN ANDRN, SELMA R. SCHELIN. 

